A Good Clean Fight

North Africa, 1942. Dust, heat, thirst, flies. For those who liked that sort of thing, it was a good clean fight: nothing to harm but the sand, the enemy and yourself. Striking hard and escaping fast, Fanny Barton’s squadron play Russian roulette, flying their clapped out Tomahawks on ground-strafing forays. On the ground, the men of Captain Lampard’s SAS patrol drive hundreds of miles behind enemy lines to plant bombs on German aircraft.

Hullo Russia, Goodbye England

Having survived a double tour on Lancasters in WW2 (and won two DFCs), Flight Lieutenant Silk rejoins Bomber Command much later and qualifies to fly the Vulcan bomber. Welcoming him, the airbase commander says: “You have the best, and the worst, job in the world. You have the Vulcan, incomparably the finest bomber. That's the best bit. Your job is to fly to the Soviet Union and destroy cities.

Sentinels of Fire

By the spring of 1945, the once mighty Japanese fleet has been virtually destroyed, leaving Japan open to invasion. The Japanese react by dispatching hundreds of suicide bombers against the Allied fleet surrounding Okinawa. By mid-May, the Allied fleet is losing a major ship a day to murderous swarms of kamikazes streaming out of Formosa and southern Japan.

Dam Busters: The True Story of the Inventors and Airmen Who Led the Devastating Raid to Smash the German Dams in 1943

The night of 16 May, 1943: Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, each with a huge 9000-lb cylindrical bomb strapped underneath it. Their mission: to destroy three dams deep within the German heartland, which provide the lifeblood to the industries supplying the Third Reich's war machine.

Bomber

Bomber is a novel of war. There are no victors, no vanquished. There are simply those who remain alive, and those who die. Bomber follows the progress of an Allied air raid through a period of twenty-four hours in the summer of 1943. It portrays all the participants in a terrifying drama, both in the air and on the ground, in Britain and in Germany. In its documentary style, it is unique. In its emotional power it is overwhelming. Len Deighton has been equally acclaimed as a novelist and as an historian.

A Thousand Shall Fall: The True Story of a Canadian Bomber Pilot in World War Two

During World War II, Canada trained tens of thousands of airmen under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Those selected for Bomber Command operations went on to rain devastation upon the Third Reich in the great air battles over Europe, but their losses were high. German fighters and anti-aircraft guns took a terrifying toll. The chances of surviving a tour of duty as a bomber crew were almost nil.

The Sins of the Father: Clifton Chronicles, Book 2

The second book in Jeffrey Archer’s highly acclaimed The Clifton Chronicles, The Sins of the Father takes the reader on a breath-taking journey from the backstreets of Bristol to the boardrooms of Manhattan.The book opens in New York, 1939. Harry Clifton, under the new identity of Tom Bradshaw, finds himself arrested for first degree murder.

Best Kept Secret: Clifton Chronicles, Book 3

1945. The vote in the House of Lords as to who should inherit the Barrington family fortune has ended in a tie. The Lord Chancellor’s deciding vote will cast a long shadow on the lives of Harry Clifton and Giles Barrington. Harry returns to America to promote his latest novel, while his beloved Emma goes in search of the little girl who was found abandoned in her father’s office on the night he was killed. When the General Election is called, Giles Barrington has to defend his seat

The Unsubstantial Air: American Fliers in the First World War

The Unsubstantial Air is the gripping story of the Americans who fought and died in the aerial battles of World War I. Much more than a traditional military history, it is an account of the excitement of becoming a pilot and flying in combat over the Western Front, told through the voices of the aviators themselves. A World War II pilot himself, the memoirist and critic Samuel Hynes revives the adventurous young men who inspired his own generation to take to the sky.

The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II

The Last Jump is a war story, a mystery, a love tale, and a tribute to the people who won World War II. Fact and fiction intermix seamlessly to unravel a secret passionately guarded by four aging soldiers. The reader is transported back in time to an imperfect America, with all is incredible virtues and vexing shortcomings struggling with racial and gender issues while fighting for its very survival. It was time when Americans stood shoulder to shoulder to free the world from tyranny.

Once an Eagle: A Novel

Once an Eagle is the story of one special man, a soldier named Sam Damon, and his adversary over a lifetime, fellow officer Courtney Massengale. Damon is a professional who puts duty, honor, and the men he commands above selfinterest. Massengale, however, brilliantly advances his career by making the right connections behind the lines and in Washington’s corridors of power.

Under Enemy Colors

At the time of the French Revolution, one of Britain's most skillful naval officers, Charles Saunders Hayden, is a young lieutenant, the son of an English father and a French mother. His abilities and his loyalty to the king of England are beyond dispute, yet his career seems doomed by his "mixed" heritage and lack of political connections. Consequently, Hayden is assigned to an aging frigate, the Themis, under the command of Captain Josiah Hart, a man known as "Faint Hart" throughout the service.

Broadsides: The Age of Fighting Sail, 1775-1815

In the late 18th century, it was widely thought that to be a sailor was little better than to be a slave. "No man will be a sailor," wrote Samuel Johnson, "who has contrivance enough to get himself into jail. A man in jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company." If that were true, historian Nathan Miller suggests, then the record of sailing in the age of tall ships would likely be distinguished by few heroes and fewer grand narratives.

Stand into Danger

Despatched on a secret mission, the company of a 28-gun frigate must face the hazards of conspiracy, treason, and piracy. And recently appointed third lieutentant Richard Bolitho must learn to accept his new responsibilities as a King's officer.

Sloop of War

As the French enter the American War of Independence, young Richard Bolitho is given command of the fast, well-armed sloop Sparrow. He has a chance to prove his ability, but danger threatens - as real and deadly as the enemy itself.

Warriors at 500 Knots: Intense Stories of Valiant Crews Flying the Legendary F-4 Phantom II in the Vietnam Air War.

As the ground war struggled for success in Vietnam, it became intensely clear that the skies had to be owned by the allies for victory to have a chance. It was the F-4 and its pilots that made that possible. The author, a Phantom pilot himself, details intense stories of undaunted and valiant American pilots with their legendary fierce Phantom. These are personal stories of intrepid courage and self-sacrifice to get the mission done - whatever the cost.

The Wrong Stuff: The Adventures and Misadventures of an 8th Air Force Aviator

Between April and July 1944, Truman Smith flew 35 bombing missions over France and Germany. He was only 20 years old. Although barely adults, Smith and his peers worried about cramming a lifetime's worth of experience into every free night, each knowing he probably would not survive the next bombing mission. Written with blunt honesty, wry humor, and insight, The Wrong Stuff is Smith's gripping memoir of that time.

Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge 1944-45

Between December 16, 1944 and January 15, 1945, American forces found themselves entrenched in the heavily forested Ardennes region of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg defending against an advancing German army amid freezing temperatures, deep snow, and dense fog. Operation Herbstnebel - Autumn Mist - was a massive German counter-offensive that stunned the Allies in its scope and intensity.

Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck

A stunning look at World War II from the other side.... From the turret of a German tank, Colonel Hans von Luck commanded Rommel's 7th and then 21st Panzer Division. El Alamein, Kasserine Pass, Poland, Belgium, Normandy on D-Day, the disastrous Russian front - von Luck fought there with some of the best soldiers in the world. German soldiers. Awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross, von Luck writes as an officer and a gentleman.

Only Time Will Tell: Clifton Chronicles, Book 1

The Clifton Chronicles is Jeffrey Archer’s most ambitious work in four decades as an international best-selling author. The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the chilling words, ‘I was told that my father was killed in the war’. But it will be another twenty years before Harry discovers how his father really died, which will only lead him to question: who was his father?

A Man Called Intrepid: The Incredible WWII Narrative of the Hero Whose Spy Network and Secret Diplomacy Changed the Course of History

A Man Called Intrepid is the account of the world’s first integrated intelligence operation and of its master, William Stephenson. Codenamed INTREPID by Winston Churchill, Stephenson was charged with establishing and running a vast, worldwide intelligence network to challenge the terrifying force of Nazi Germany. Nothing less than the fate of Britain and the free world hung in the balance as INTREPID covertly set about stalling the Nazis by any means necessary.

The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II

A modern master of the historical novel, Jeff Shaara has painted brilliant depictions of the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, and World War I. Now he embarks upon his most ambitious epic, a trilogy about the military conflict that defined the 20th century. The Rising Tide begins a staggering work of fiction bound to be a new generation's most poignant chronicle of World War II.

Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, from the Red Baron to the F-16

The New York Times best-selling author of Viper Pilot and retired USAF F-16 legend Dan Hampton offers the first comprehensive popular history of combat aviation - a unique, entertaining, and action-packed look at the aces of the air and their machines, from the Red Baron and his triplane in World War I to today's technologically expert flying warriors in supersonic jets.

Bomber Command

With an introduction read by Max Hastings. Bomber Command's offensive against the cities of Germany was one of the epic campaigns of the Second World War. More than 56,000 British and Commonwealth aircrew and 600,000 Germans died in the course of the RAF's attempt to win the war by bombing. The struggle began in 1939 with a few score primitive Whitleys, Hampdens and Wellingtons, and ended six years later with 1,600 Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Mosquitoes razing whole cities in a single night.

Night Raid: The True Story of the First Victorious British Para Raid of WWII

The loss of British bombers over Occupied Europe began to reach alarming levels in 1941. Could it be that the Germans were using a sophisticated form of radar to direct their night fighters and anti-aircraft guns at the British bombers? British aerial reconnaissance discovered what seemed to be a rotating radar tower on a clifftop at Bruneval, near Le Havre. The truth must be revealed. The decision was taken to launch a daring raid on the Bruneval site to try and capture the technology for further examination.

Publisher's Summary

North Africa, 1942. Dust, heat, thirst, flies. For those who liked that sort of thing, it was a good clean fight: nothing to harm but the sand, the enemy and yourself. Striking hard and escaping fast, Fanny Barton’s squadron play Russian roulette, flying their clapped out Tomahawks on ground-strafing forays. On the ground, the men of Captain Lampard’s SAS patrol drive hundreds of miles behind enemy lines to plant bombs on German aircraft. This is the story of the desert war waged by the men of the RAF and SAS versus the Luftwaffe and the Afrika Korps – a war of no glamour and few heroes in a setting often more lethal than the enemy.

I've been a big fan of Robinson's RFC/RAF graphic novels for some time. Often revisit them and still both laugh out loud at the sparkling repartee and cringe at the all too involving scenes of conflict. Narrator Tudor Barnes is simply terrific in tone, pace, comic timing and, the Robinson trademark, conveying irony. The Desert War will never feel the same after this.

Would you try another book from Derek Robinson and/or Michael Tudor Barnes?

Probably, especially if other reviews were good. The reader did a good job with voices, pacing and such, which really helped with this book. Otherwise it would have gotten tedious quickly.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

There really isn't a "story." This is one of those that follows a slice of time in the WWII deserts of North Africa before the US got into the war. Normally I'm not a big fan of these stories that use the time, place, external events as both the main character and a substitute for a "story," but this one somehow caught my attention and I just kept listening. There were enough small events on both sides to keep you tuned in. Both the German and British characters are such an oddball mix of good-bad-crazy that I never cheered anyone, but still wanted to see what would happen next.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably the last SAS strike on the German fighter base. Incredibly brazen, yet actually well played. Meanwhile the Sr. German officers, just have a seat and watch the show, knowing by the time their infantry gets there, the SAS will all be gone and all the BF109s will have been destroyed.

Was A Good Clean Fight worth the listening time?

Mostly. Could have been a bit shorter and tighter, but I'd probably try another of this author's works.

Maybe. Maybe not, but only because there are so many books, and so little time.

What did you like best about this story?

Robinson's usual cynicism/realism about war and the many types of personalities that make up a group thrust together for a common goal (more or less). Brilliant characterisations as always.

What about Michael Tudor Barnes’s performance did you like?

Well read, and characterised, although a bit toffee-nosed where it shouldn't have been (e.g. enlisted men). Just one bit of constructive criticism - Fanny Barton is a New Zealander, not an Australian. There is a very distinctive difference between how NZers pronounce 'a', 'e' and 'i' and how Aussies do. Something akin to South Africans. Fanny sounds like an Ocker (rough Aussie). Otherwise, great reading.

This author does a great job of placing you in the desert showing you what it was like. I was expecting a war story but got nice education on flies, desert terrain, and all sorts of weapons. The smooth part is that setting is more important than the characters and you never notice how much you're being taught. As a WW2 buff the book is satisfying down to the equipment and correct details. On the other hand this author seems to cut most of his characters out of the same cloth and the 'heros are jerks' theme my bug you. The Germans seem kind of stupid and the British seem kind of murderous. I loved the book because it brought the Africa theatre to life for me, and the desert raiding parts were outstanding. My only complaint would be all the minutes I had to listen to of the main German character doing his middle aged angst that never made a point. As a pilot and an aviation buff it can tell you that 'A Piece of Cake' has the better flying scenes. If you like WW2 stories that feel 'real', this is a good one.

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